Join ESSENCE's Guns Down Initiative

Inspired to action by the devastating gun violence that has taken the lives of our children, including Ana Grace Marquez-Greene in Newtown and Hadiya Pendleton in Chicago, ESSENCE has announced Guns Down, a national initiative to help protect our children and get guns off the streets.

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The full text of our letter reads:

Dear Mr. President,

Please protect our children. Help us get guns off the streets.

I am concerned about the thousands of children who lose their lives to gun violence every year. I am concerned that gun violence disproportionately impacts communities of color, devastating families and robbing so many of our children of their future.

Mr. President, I support your initiatives to curb gun violence, including restrictions on assault weapons, strengthening mental health care for young people, universal background checks for gun purchasers, stiffer criminal penalties for gun trafficking and funding research on the causes and prevention of gun violence.

Mr. President, please share with Congress my support for your initiative to end gun violence. Together we can ensure a bright future for all our children.